Steel groups reject ThyssenKrupp plan

Steel groups reject ThyssenKrupp plan

As SteelOrbis reported earlier this month, German steel producer ThyssenKrupp (TK) announced its interest in making acquisitions in Europe and mentioned four possible European producers as potential merger candidates: Italian firm Riva, German firm Salzgitter, Austrian firm Voestalpine and Anglo-Dutch firm Corus. However, according to recent news in the market, in response to TK's interests in partnering, all four firms have expressed their unwillingness at this time to consider merging with the German steel producer. Ulrich Middelmann, head of ThyssenKrupp's steel division previously expressed his view that the strong steel industry may not continue in the long run and that in a potential new downturn, European steelmakers may be too small to compete with their global competitors. However, all four of the European steel producers have responded that they are not interested in consolidation and are satisfied with the current market situation.